Apparatus for handling cores



Oct. 28, 1930. .1. R. McWANE 1,779,434

APFARATUS FOR HANDLING CORES Filed Feb. 28, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

ATTORN EYS Oct. 28, 1930.- J. R. M WANE APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CORES 2 Sheebs-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 28, 1928 'JTCW INVENTOR, m6,

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 28, 1930 UNITED STATES ATE T. OFFICE,

.J'AMES R. MGWANE, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR IO MCWANE CAST IRON PIPE COMPANY, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, A CORPORATI ON OF ALABAMA APPARATUS FOR HANlDLING GORES A Application filed February 28, 1928. Serial No. 257,708.

This invention relates to apparatus for handling cores such as are used in the manufacture of standard cast iron pipes and among other objects, aims to provide improved equipment whereby a plurality ofcores may be simultaneously picked up, conveyed, and set in place in the drag section of a multiple pipe mold by means of lifting mechanism, without injury to the cores or molds. The invention is preferably employed in connection with the system claimed in my 06- gending application, Serial No. 220,730, filed epteinber 20, 1927. v I I V H In the accompanying drawings, showing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of afcoljesetting rig shown with cores anda core supporting frame; Q j A Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevationshowing the core setting rig after ithas lifted the cores from the core supporting frame, I 4 e Fig. 3 is'an end view of the core setting rigrsupporting a plurality ofcore's; i 4 isa fragmentary end viewof the core setting .rig showing] it 7 in lowered posi- "tion over the dragsection of'a mold, v 1

Fig. dis a fragmentary "topplan'vie'ivbf phe rig of Fig. {1, showing the drag in dottled mes; j Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3. L Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional;,andsornewliat diagrammatic view takenflthro'ugh one end of a drag section and showing aplurality, of cores being guided into the journal slth'ereof'f; Fig. 8 is a view like Fig.7 but with the plane of the section passing through the other end of thedrag; and i v 1 'Fig. 9is asection on line 9y-9 of Fig.2. In the manufacture of cast iron pipe by the horizontalcasting m'ethod,'fthe practice here.- .tofore-has been to set onecorf atatime in the drag section of the pipe moldsfnotwithing a plurality ofpipes at one time so asto speed up production. Inimakingshoit, light a preferred embodiment of the invention,

standing'that multiple molds are used in castcores,'the setting of a number of cores simultaneously has heretoforebeen considered wholly impracticable. 7

This invention provides apparatus which facilitates the setting of a group of. cores in the moldsat one time, and which minimizes the likelihood of injuring the cores orthe molds. L I

The apparatus here shown is designed to be used between the core reconditioning zone and the assembling Zone of the plant described in-my above mentioned application.

In general, provision is made for support ing finished cores, ready tobe set in' molds, on a frame such as that of a core carv more or less like those shown' in my Patent No. 1,589,652. The cores are supported by the frame in the same relative positions that they are to occupy in'a multiple pipe mold. A crane rig, hereinafter described and claimed, is utilized'to pick up a group of the cores without injury thereto and hold them in their same, relative positions whilethey are being transferred to and'placed in the drag. The drag. has means forguiding the group of cores both longitudinally and laterally into their respective seats. The rig isso construct ed and arranged that it may belowered clear of the-walls of the drag, andmay be manually disengaged from the cores after they are set in position, thus obviating destruction of or injury tothe mold and cores. 7

. Referring to Figs. 1 andQ, there is shown a core handling rig ready to pick up a group of cores 10 which may be like those shown in my Reissue No. 17,121 dated October 30, 1928. Theeores'in Fig. 1 are shown supported. on a frame 11, which may be on an ordinary core car (not shown), with their ends projecting beyond arcuately notched vertical flanges 12 (Fig. 9) which conveniently may be made of structural angles supported on plates 13 (Fig. 2) whose surfaces extend beyond the vertical flanges and underlie'the projecting ends of the cores. The arcuate notches in the vertical flanges 12 are preferably machined, andare spaced'apart the same'distance as the core-centering journals in a 'multiple pipe mold (see Reissue 17,121), and all the cores are positioned longitudinally oii-the frame 11 when they are set in the notches by causing correspondingly located portions of the core bars to engage or rest in the seats provided by th e'n'otches. Herein, the-core barshave annular fla'n'ges'l at their large or hell ends and pr'esent'grooves 15 betweenthe flanges 14 and sa'iden'ds. The grooved portions of the core bars are conveniently received in the machined seats or notches with the annular flanges 14 outside'the flanges12. By the describedconstruction, the ends of all the cores of the'gr'oup on frame 11 are exactly even with eac'liother and are spaced apart the exaict distance between'thei'r respective seats or journals in thefdrag;'and because ofthe way the core'hars interfit' with the flanges 12; the cores rest i'mrnovably upon frame 11.

The'rig'for pi'ckingup a groupofthe cores includes a spreader beam 16 which may be and preferably is a part of thestandard equipmentused for handling flask sections. Se niyPatent No. 1,557,072; This spreader has provision in theform of an eye 17 on links 18 to be suspended from an overhead traveling crane (not shown). The means for engaging the flask sections are shown as endless chains 19 (Figs. 1 and 3) trained over sheaves 20 arranged at the opposite ends of the spreader, as described in the patent last mentioned; The rig also includes a pair of slings 21 (Figs. 2 and 3) suspended from laterally spaced hooks 22 secured to the spreader inside of or between the sheaves 20 sot'hat the chains'li) may be thrown over the endsol thespreader (Fig. l) and the slings may be detaehably connected to the hooks and used'without interference from the flask handlingchains.

] lfl'erein the'slings 21 are shown" (Figs. 3, at, 5 andfi) as each comprising rigid members in t'heform o'fangles 23w'h'ose vertical flanges areprovided with machine arcua'te notches or 2st for the ends. of .a group of cores. Th'e horizont'al flanges of the angles are shown as being reinforced by plates 25 riveted to t-lie n'. I I

The slings are adapted to seatfour cores at a time and are shown as being" flexibly sus pended" from the hooks 22 of the spreader by inea'n's'of chains 25, secured to bent ears 2? fastto the'verticalflaligesof the slin the arran'genient'being such that the slings may be swung on the hooks to be engaged with and disengaged from the ends of a group of cores, thus permitting handling thereof, without injury to the cores.

To enable the slings to lower a group of cores into the journals of the drag section of amold such as that shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 262,683 filed March 19, 1928, and entitled Apparatus for molding cast iron pipes, they are bent as at28whcre, they overlie the 'trunnions'ofthefdrag so that the trunnions will not interfere with seating the ends of the'cores in the journals; that is to say, the slings will not strike the trunnions before all of the core'sare set in place. Moreover, a clearance between the slings and the trunnions is necessary in order to permit the slings to be lowe'redto disengage the ends of thecores, perm'itt'ng them to be swung outwardly" beyond the ends before the crane again lifts the rig. The necessity for this clearance accounts for the flat reinforcing element 25 instead of a vertically flanged one which would project downwardly too far.

Referring now to the liandlingo'f a'group of coreshythe apparatus, as shown in Fig. 1, the vertical flanges ofthe slings 21 are sho'wnas facing each other so that when the slings are lowered below the projecting ends of the cores on the supporting frame, they may restfir'st on top of theflat plates 13, whereupon the sling at'the spigot ends of thecor'es may'be'pushed or slid'into contact With the vertical flange 12 and the sling at the b'ell'endsmay be slid against the annular core bar flanges 14. This arrangement insures the initials'pa'cing of the two slings sulfici'ently farap'a'rt to enable them to clear the end walls of} the drag and such spacing is maintained because of the friction between one of th'e'slings'and the core bars, andbecause of the" engagement of the annular flanges 14- withthe other sling. The slings with the cores ther'eonare carried to the assembling zone of the plant by an overhead crane (not shown) and thenlowe'r'ed' into position upon the dra It is of utmost importance to guide the group of coresproperly into the journals in the drag,.because any false move might result in destruction of or injury to either the mold or the cores or both. To this end, each of'tlie drags 29 (FigsLT- and 8) is shown as having provision for mounting thereon guides 30 to g'uide'the whole group of cores both laterally and longitudinally. It has been found that two such guides should be used; preferablyat diagonally" opposite corners; The one at the bell end of the drag is arranged to engage the groove 15 of one of the outsideflcore bars and the one at the spigot end is arranged to engage the projecting end oft-he core baron the opposite side ofth'e group; In the present example, the dragsahave' inWardlyeXtend ingl lips or ledges 31 provided with a pair of holes to receive spaced pins 32 on the guides 30 whereby the guides are held in proper guiding position, andyet are readily removed. lhe guides may be and preferably are made of flat pieces having downwardly and inwardly inclined edges 33, along whioh the'group of cores is guided laterally as the groupis lowered by the crane. An attendant will start the group downwardly with the upper, inner edge of guide30 at the bell end engaging the groove 15 (Fig. 8) and will hold one of the chains suspending the sling until the whole group is lowered into position; then attendants at both ends will disengage the slings and remove the guides so that the crane can take another trip for another load.

From the above, it will be clear that by means of the described apparatus it is possible to pick up a group of cores and transport them any distance and set them in position without the least injury to the very easily destroyed cores. This result is offected by first grouping the cores on a sup port which holds the cores in the exact relative position they will occupywhenin the mold, then engaging the cores from underneath witha pair of slings which maintain the original spacing of the coresand lifting them off the support and transporting them to the mold, lowering the cores in place with guiding means to insure seating of thecores in the machined ournals provided for them, and finally disengaging the slings without disturbance to the cores.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention provides apparatus eminently adapted to expedite-the assembling of molds ready for pouring or for transfer to the pouring zone and that it will materi ally increase the production of a plant, such as that described in my co-pending application; lVIoreover, use of'the invention reduces productionexpense. To be concrete, the described apparatus permits the seating of four cores simultaneously as rapidly as one core hasheretofore been seated, and thus (in'conjunction with other apparatus) makes it possible to quadruple the output of the plant'without employing any complex mechanism requiring'high skill, and without additional labor, and with a great saving in power and in the time of several workmen. 'Pr'oportionately greater savings are realized by using Lapparatus capable of handlingmorelthan four cores at atim'e. I v

Obviously the present inventionis not; restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is not indispensablethatall the features of the invention' be used conjointly, since they maybe employed advantageously in various combinations and sub-combinations.

What I claim is v1 1. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, means for picking up simultaneously and holding a group of spaced cores by their ends, without disturbing the relative positions thereof and without injury to the'cores, and means for guiding the cores simultaneously into seats provided on the drag section of a multiple mold, without relative movement of the cores of the group,'thus obviating injuryto the cores'or tothe'mold. V

2. A rig for handling a plurality of core bars for cast iron pipes comprising, in combination, a spreader adapted to be carried by a crane; a pairofslings at the opposite ends of the spreader; flexible means for detachably connecting said slings to the spreader; and means on the slings to engage the ends of a plurality of spaced parallel core bars and confine them in fixed spaced relation while they are being conveyed and set in a multiple pipe flask.

3. A rigfor handling sanded core barsfor cast iron pipe comprising, in combination a spreader beam adapted to be carried by an overhead crane; pairs of laterally spaced hooks adjacent to the opposite ends of the spreader beam; a pair of slings'each having chains detachably connected to said hooks;

and means on the slings to receive the endsof a plurality of spaced parallel core bars and to confine them immovable relative to each other while they are being conveyed and set in a mold section.

4. A rig for handling core bars comprising, in combination, a spreader beam adapted to be carried by an overhead crane; and a pair of slings suspended from the spreader beam having notches for receiving a plurality of spaced parallel core bars and supporting them in position to be set in a multiple pipe mold section; said slings being spaced sufiiciently far apart to clear the end'walls of the 1 flask section when lowered andjbeing flexibly suspended so as to permit them to be dis engaged from the core bars without disturbing them after they are set in the mold section.

5. A rig'for handling sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a support; and a pair of slings depending from the support, .each having spaced notches to engage beneath the corresponding ends of a plurality of core bars and hold-them in proper spaced relation to be set in the drag section ofa'mold.

6. A rig for handling sanded'core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising "in combination, apair of slings each having spaced notches to receive the ends of a plurality of core bars and confine them in proper spaced '4'. A rig for handling sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a pair of slings each including a flanged member having spaced arcuate notches to receive the ends of a plurality of core bars and confine them in proper spaced relation to be set in a drag section.

8. A rig for handling sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising, in combination, a pair of slings each including an angle member having a wide vertical flange; a reenforeing member for the horizontal flange; and a plurality of spaced arcuate notches adapted to receive the ends of a plurality of core bars and hold them against movement whereby they may be set in the drag section of a moldwithout relative movement.

9. A. rig for setting a plurality of sanded cores in a drag havingtrunnions projecting beyond the ends, comprising, in combination, a pair of slings each formed so as to engage and receive the ends of the core bars and each shaped so as to overlie the trunnion without striking it during the setting of the cores in the drag, and each of such vertical thickness as to permit lowering for disengagement from the core bars without interference with the drag.

10. In combination with a spreader having means for attachment to a crane and means for handling trunnioned fiasksections, pairs of laterally spaced hooks secured to the spreader between the means for handling flask sections so as to permit suspending a core bar setting rig therefrom; said hooks being so located as not to interfere with the operation of the flask carrying rig.

11.. In a spreader having means for attachment to a crane and-means adjacent to the opposite ends to handle pipe flasks, independentmeans to suspend core carrying devices wherebythey maybe used without interfering with the flask handling means.

12; Apparatus for'handling a plurality of sanded core:bars for making cast iron pipes comprising, in combination, a core bar support: having provision for receiving, supporting and holding said core bars in the same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiplepipe mold; and a core conveying and set ting rig including means for picking up a plurality of said 'core'bars at the ends thereof and conveying them in the same relative positions to the drag section of a mold.

13. Apparatus for handling a plurality of sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a core bar support having provision for receiving and supporting said core bars in the same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; a core conveying and setting rig including means for picking up a plurality of said core bars and conveying them in the same relative positions to the dragsection of a mold; and means associated with the drag to guide the core bars. 1

14. Apparatus for handling a plurality of sanded. core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a frame presenting laterally spaced core bar seats for receiving and supporting said core bars in the same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; and a core conveying and setting rig including means for picking up a plurality of said core bars and conveying them in the same'relative positions to the drag section of a mold.

15. Apparatus for handling a plurality of sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a frame having vertical notched or cutaway flanges at the opposite sides for receiving and supporting said core bars in the same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; and a core conveying and setting rig including means for picking pp a plurality of 'sai d core bars and conveying thenrin the same relative positions to the drag section of a mold.

16. Apparatus for handling aplurality of sanded core bars for making'cast iron. pipes comprising in combination, a core bar support having provision for receiving and sup,- po'rting said core bars in the same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; and a core setting rig having slings engageable with ends of the core bars which project beyond the support'adapted to transfer the core bars to the drag section of a mold without relative movement of the cores.

17. Apparatus for handling a plurality of sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a frame having vertical notched or cutaway flanges at the opposite sides for receiving and supporting said core bars in the same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; and a core conveying and setting rig including means for picking up a plurality of said core bars and conveying them in the same relative positions to the drag section of a mold; said slings being so positioned on the core bars as to clear the end walls of the drag section.

18. Apparatus for handling a plurality of sanded core bars for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a frame having vertical notched or cutaway flanges at the opposite sides for receiving and supporting said core bars inthe same spaced relation that they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; and a core conveying and setting rig including means for picking up a plurality of said core bars and conveying them in the same relative positions tothe drag section of a mold; said slings being so positioned on the core bars as to clear the end wallsiof the drag section, and being so shaped as to overlie the trunnions on the drag Without striking them.

ilill all) the projecting ends of a plurality of the core 7 bars; and guide pins removably mounted on a drag to guide the slings with the load of core bars bot-h laterally and longitudinally so that all of the core bars will be set properly in their respective journals.

20. Apparatus for handling sanded core operating with a part of a core bar also to guide the group longitudinally.

In testimony, that Iclaim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature.

JAMES R. McWANE.

bars used in making cast iron pipes comprls- I I ing, in combination; means for supporting a plurality of cores in the same spaced relation as they occupy in a multiple pipe mold; said core bars projecting beyond the supporting means; a core bar conveying rig including suspended slings presenting notched vertical flanges providing seats and adapted to swing under the projecting ends of the core bars against the supporting means; and removable guiding means on the drag section of a mold to guide the core bars both laterally and longiutdinally into respective core journals.

21. Apparatus for handling sanded core bars used for making cast iron pipes comprising in combination, a core bar supporting frame having notched vertical flanges providing seats into which a plurality of core bars are adapted to be placed in the same relative positions as they occupy in a mold; the flange at one end of the frame adapted to engage correspondingly located portions of the core bars; a handling rig including slings also presenting correspondingly notched flanges providing seats for a plurality of core bars, said slings adapted to be swung under the ends of the core bars one against the vertical flange at one end 'of the frame and the other against correspondingly located parts of the cores at the other end; a pair of bevelled guiding standards adapted to be inserted in holesin the drag section of a multiple pipe mold at diagonallyopposite corners, one to guide one end of the group of core bars laterally and the other to guide the other end of the group both longitudinally and laterally.

22. Apparatus for setting a plurality of sanded cores in the drag section of a multiple cast iron pipe mold, comprising, in combination, a rig on which the cores are adapted to be suspended and lowered in the same relative positions as they occupy in a mold;

the drag section having removably mounted guides at diagonally opposite corners each having inclined portions to engage a part of one of the core bars and guide the group laterally at its end; one of, the guides co- 

